BCL on the chutzpah of Jonathan Kay, junk science enabler debunker: [T]here’s a real lack of self-awareness here. Jonathon [sic], after all, is comment pages editor at the National Post, and under his watch it has for years entertained junk science from Global Warming deniers. Sometimes this nonsense has been confined to
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Dead Wild Roses: I like it when Physics answers the “Big Questions” – Immovalble Objects and Unstoppable Forces
No preamble necessary, watch and learn folks. 🙂 Filed under: Education, Science Tagged: Immovable Objects, Physics, Science, Unstoppable Forces
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: The chemtrail conspiracy nonsense
Scientists need not apply for membership in the Chemtrail Conspiracy. In fact, scientists will probably be booted out for even walking on the same street where the meeting is being held. That’s because scientists would shine a light into the utter … Continue reading →
Continue readingDeath By Trolley: Help Me Better Understand The Big Bang Theory
My understanding of the Big Bang Theory (BBT) is that approximately 13.77 billion years ago a certain singularity came into existence “with a bang”. It was incredibly – infinitely? – dense and small, and it exploded into existence. The explosion was the beginning of the expansion. The Big Bang (BB)
Continue readingAnother Step to Take: vaccines and the selling of fear.
I read an article today about a family in New Zealand where a young boy came down with tetanus. His father is speaking out about their decision not to vaccinate, admitting that it was the wrong decision and hoping to spare others the pain they have had to suffer. The
Continue readingImpolitical: A blog post that fits the icy weather
News from Greenland from the past day: “Ice core drill gives insight into climate future.” An international study into the Greenland ice core is helping scientists predict what a future warmed planet would look like. Meanwhile, in Canada, the government has put our collection of ice cores at risk. These
Continue readingEclectic Lip: The Black Swan’s Thanksgiving Turkey
(originally written Nov 24, 2011. Part of Great Upload of 2013.) It came to my attention that Naseem Nicholas Taleb, who authored The Black Swan (surprisingly, not about a ballet dancer, but about financial crises) discussed other avians in his book, among them the Thanksgiving turkey. Per the Wikipedia page,
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: What’s this nonsense about mushrooms?
In the middle of a video parody on YouTube that skewers council on our new rec facilities, there’s a comment about “the mushroom farm debacle.” It then goes on, rather erratically, to rail about “two yanks” and mushrooms growing in … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: It’s snowing, snowing, snowing…
I was looking outside today as the snow fell in Collingwood (-11C when we awoke, -10C when I first walked my dog…) and thinking of my brother-in-law in England, where they are getting walloped by a Canadian-style winter. He must … Continue reading →
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Making Gasoline out of Fresh Air and Water
This article on producing gasoline the air and water caught my eye as I was reading the news at Al Jazeera. Let’s be upfront here people, get your skeptical hats on because the process described seems to be a little short on detail (and verification) at the moment. “A small
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Musings on Game Design
An odd bit of synchronicity. I picked up a few unusual board games* at the discount/remainder store downtown (in the former Shoppers’ Drug Mart building) a couple of weeks back, and was mulling over their instructions, wondering why they seemed … Continue reading →
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Climate Change Explained
By Bob McDonald, Quirks & Quarks The end of the Kyoto Protocol, and our inability to do something about rising carbon emissions, is like arguing over rising water in the bilge of a boat, rather than fixing the leak. @JohnKleinRegina Thanks (blush)— Quirks & Quarks (@CBCQuirks) January 10, 2013
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: High School Physics – Momentum
Ah, the models we learn in school, just to get our head in the game. Here is a quick one minute physics video illustrating that most things are lot more complex than what we initially thought. Filed under: Science Tagged: Fun Facts, Model Builiding, Physics, Science
Continue readingDeath By Trolley: Don’t We All Hear Voices? A Mindfulness-Informed View of Schizophrenia and the “Normal” Mind
The hallmark of schizophrenia is perceiving things that are not there. Auditory hallucinations, including “hearing voices”, is particularly common. What if this clinically distinguishing feature of schizophrenia differs from the cognitively distinguishing feature? What if, cognitively speaking, what distinguishes schizophrenia is not the presence of voices, but rather how one
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Knock, Knock – It’s Climate Change
I wonder who we’ll blame after the next super hurricane or the next drought? I’m curious as to what will be the explanation for those that come after us be when we’re done here on Earth. Let it be shown here in 2012 that we’re still talking about if climate
Continue readingAnother Step to Take: Christmas Time Fun
So what did we do this Christmas time? We tobogganed, experimented with computer programming again, played board games and much more. Here are a few of our holiday projects. We had learned about the different types of levers earlier, including the mnemonic “ple” to remember which type of lever is
Continue readingExponential Book: What do you look for (part two)?
Having expounded in my previous post what kind of person I look for, when serving on the search committee for a tenure-track hire, now it is time to list the criteria that I adopt to try and spot my ideal candidate, as I go through application packages (APs). I am
Continue readingDeath By Trolley: Most misunderstood idea of all time – Nominations?
Every year, Edge.Org asks prominent thinkers a big picture question on thought and knowledge. In 2005, they asked What do you believe is true even though you cannot prove it? In 2006 it was What is your dangerous idea? In 2008, the big question was What have you changed your
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The Future is Miserable – Lawrence Kruass
Hey you, yes you…lighten up, Lawrence Krauss is in the house. 🙂 Filed under: Atheism, Science Tagged: Atheism, Lawrence Krauss, Our Place in the Universe, Religion, Science
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: The Hidden Costs of Gambling
Let’s start 2013 with a sober consideration of the social and economic costs of gambling. Back n 2006, the Canadian Medical Association noted that, “Provincial governments may be glossing over the societal and health costs of problem gambling, including depression and … Continue reading →
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